Cornelius Jonson van Ceulen (1593–1661) was born in London into a Flemish-German migrant family and developed his career there as an increasingly successful portrait painter. In 1643, after the outbreak of the Civil War in Britain, Jonson migrated with his family to the Northern Netherlands, where he initially resided in Middelburg and later worked in Amsterdam, The Hague and again in Middelburg, before finally settling in Utrecht in 1652. Jonson worked on every scale, from small portrait miniatures to large bourgeois group portraits. The exhibition Cornelius Jonson van Ceulen: An Anglo-Netherlandish master from the Golden Age is focused on his work in Zeeland.
Program Expert Meeting
1 June 2026
13:00 Doors open for registration. Coffee and tea
13:30 Welcome from Albert A.J. Scheffers, director of the Stadhuismuseum
13:50 Introduction to the life and work of Cornelius Jonson van Ceulen by prof. Karen Hearn, guest curator of the exhibition and author of the accompanying book
14:10 dr. Carla van de Puttelaar, art historian, Cornelius Jonson’s Portrait of Anna Maria van Schurman in Context
14:30 dr. Fred G. Meijer, art historian, Cornelius Jonson and trompe l’oeil
15:00 Tea and coffee break
15:30 Marjan de Visser, restorer, The conservation of the group portrait of the Middelburg guild of St Sebastian
15:50 Camille Dullaart, restorer, Beautifying the Becks: the conservation and restoration treatment of Jonson van Ceulen’s Portrait of Jan Beck and his five children
16:10 prof. dr. Marieke de Winkel, Radboud University, ‘Going Dutch’. How did the Dress in the portraits of Jonson van Ceulen change with his move to The Netherlands
16:30 Martijn Akkerman, jewellery historian, A jewel of a portrait
17:10 Exhibition visit with the curator, prof. Karen Hearn, and an opportunity to view the other exhibitions in the Stadhuismuseum
17:30 Drinks and discussion in the Stadhuismuseum café
18:30 The museum closes
19:00 Speakers’ dinner at Brasserie Maritime, Nieuwe Haven 21, 4301 DJ Zierikzee
2 June 2026
10:00 Architectural walk through central Zierikzee
11:00 Plenary visit to the atelier of Snijder & Co (hand-painted wallpapers)
11:45 Plenary visit to the Regentenkamer (Regents’ Chamber) of the Burgerweeshuis (former City Orphanage), Poststraat 45, 4301 AB Zierikzee, led by the custodian, Chris Braat
12:30 Opportunity to go up the unfinished Gothic church tower, Sint-Lievensmonstertoren
12:30 Lunch at your own leisure
Registration
Please register to attend at info@stadhuismuseum.nl.
Audience members are also invited at their own expense to the speakers’ dinner on 1 June (but making a reservation for that, before 12:00 PM on Thursday 28 May, via info@stadhuismuseum.nl is absolutely essential).’